The NI Conservatives have announced their first tranche of prospective council candidates (PCCs) and a number of commonsense, headline policies. PCCs from North Down, Lisburn, Strangford, Belfast, Coleraine and Ballymena were pictured at Belfast City Hall.
The party advocates creating a single department for the economy, combining relevant parts of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Industry, the Department of Finance and Personnel and the Department of Employment and Learning. Finance spokesman, Harry Cullen, said that NI Conservatives want “to end the culture of waste and ineffectiveness at Stormont, by focussing on creating jobs, jobs and more jobs”.
NI Conservatives believe that the department of education should stop funding empty desks in schools. Mark Brotherston said “we’re about fixing the parts of the schools system which aren’t working and keeping the parts which are working well”.
They say that the NHS is a great asset with marvellous people working in it and must always remain free at the point of use. The voluntary and independent sectors should be used to better effect in the health service, with an emphasis on the quality of care provided to patients and value for money, rather than maintaining expensive facilities in public ownership.
Spokesman, Trevor Ringland, said that a lasting solution to the flags dispute should see the Union Flag flown on all government buildings and council headquarters on designated days. “The purpose should be to reflect our status as part of the United Kingdom, rather than assert the identity of one part of the community”, Trevor emphasised. “We also want an archive to be set up, along the lines of the book Lost Lives, dedicated to uncovering as much information as possible about those who lost their lives because of the Troubles. This facility would be open to the public to explore, including school groups and academics”.
The NI Conservatives support examining the potential of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to extract shale gas, as long as environmental law is strictly implemented. The gas produced by fracking could make fuel poverty a thing of the past in Northern Ireland. We have a duty to keep an open mind about its benefits. The party will also oppose ‘golden handshake’ payments to local councillors who choose to stand down when the 26 current local councils are reduced to 11.
Regional chairman, Irwin Armstrong, confirmed that the party believes Northern Ireland Water should be mutualised, so that profits are returned to the community and the case for water rates should be re-examined. “The people of Northern Ireland deserve a better service and infrastructure that is reliable”, Irwin explained.
The NI Conservatives want to see a new distinctive Northern Ireland logo for our agri-food industry. Agriculture spokesman, Paul Leeman, said that Northern Irish food “should be instantly recognisable for shoppers, because its origin is a mark of quality”.
Trevor Ringland said “a substantial amount of work has taken place and we’ll shortly be unveiling our policies across all the departments at Stormont. We’ve been consulting with a wide range of people who are on the cutting edge of business, industry and the various public services and we’re advocating many things which are simply commonsense, but the current parties at Stormont are ignoring”.
“NI Conservatives are a vibrant, young party, which is building from the grassroots up. We’re excited to have some excellent, prospective council candidates already and many more will be unveiled before next year’s elections. They’ll be working hard in their communities and offering something fresh and different to voters across Northern Ireland.”